westman



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

, G. M. WESTMAN.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS.

No. 393,134.- Patented Nov. 20, 1888.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

0T. M. WBSTMAN.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GA'S.

No. 393,134; Patented Nov.

ATTORNEY,

N. PETER$ Pholn-Ulhogrnphec Washinglon. D C.

(No Model.) 3 she ets sheet 3.

G. M. WESTMAN.

PROGESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS. No. 393,134.- Patented Nov. 20, 1-888.

N PETERS; mommy-when Wuhingiun. b. c.

GUSTAF M. WVESTMAN,

ATENT D aries.

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,184, dated November 20, 1888.

Application filed May 1, 1883. Serial No. 272,426. (No model.)

.To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ensure M. WEsTMAN, a subject of the King of Sweden, at present residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Process for the Manufacture of Illuminating. Gas, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description.

The object of the invention is to manufacture illuminatinggas and coke from coal at a very low cost and in a simple manner, producing a gas of superior quality.

The invention consists of passing through the coal superheated gases of the same quality as those produced from the coal.

In order to carry out this process of manufacture, I prefer to construct afurnace such as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a plan View, partly in section, of the furnace. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same on the line a: x of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the same on the line 3/ y of Fig. 1; and Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are sectional views of the valves for connecting vari ous pipes, as hereinafter more fully described.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

In the manufacture of illuminatinggas and coke as heretofore practiced the coal was gasified in retorts. With my process, presently to be described, the coal is treated in a shaft-furnace,which serves as a gas-producer, and in which the coal is periodically charged at the top and from which the resultant coke is periodically withdrawn at the bottom without interrupting the process. The principal advantages derived are a great saving of labor and a considerable increase in the quantity and quality of the gas obtained from the coal.

The process consists of passing through the coal superheated gases of the same quality as those produced from the coal. The process is preferably carried into effect by the furnace presently to be described,in which parts of the gas produced are circulated back into the furnace containing the coal after being superheated in a regenerator and by leading the gas through glowing coke before it enters the coolers.

The gas-producer A, of any approved construction, is preferably the shape of a shaftfurnace and contains the coal from which the gas is to be produced. In the upper end of the gas-producer A are formed the apertures B, leading to the pipes O and 0, respectively, provided with a valve, 0, and leading into the bottoms of the shafts D and E, respectively, of any approved construction and filled with coke. The shafts D and E are alternately connected by the respective pipes O and O and the valves 0 with the gasproducer A,so that when one coke-shaft is connected with the gas producer the other is disconnnected from the same.

From'the top of the shafts D and E lead the pipes F and F, respectively, to a valve, G, (illustrated in Fig. 6,) and arranged in such a manner that the two pipes F and F can discharge in either of the pipes Hor H,connected with the said valve G. The pipe H is connected, by the branch pipes H with coolers I and I, which may be of any approved construction, preferably, however, provided with a cooling-chamber through which the water passes, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The gas passing through the coolers I and 1 passes through the pipes surrounded by the cool water.

Each of the coolers I and I discharges into a receptacle, 1, filled partly with tar and connected by a pipe, .1, above the level of the said tar with a blasting-engine, K, of any approved construction. The blasting-engine K discharges into a pipe, K connected with the valve L, (shown in detail in Fig. 4,) and provided with the pipes L and L, leading to the bottoms of the regenerators Nand N, respectively. The valve Lis also provided with a pipe, L leading to the chimney O. K, L, U, and L are so arranged that the gases from the engine K can pass either to the regenerator N, by means of the pipe L, or to the regenerator N, by means of the pipe L", and while one of the regenerators is connected with the pipe K the other regenerator is connected by its respective pipe with the pipe L leading to the chimney, as is plainly understood by reference to Fig. 4., to carry off the products of combustion. I

Each of the regenerators N and N is provided with a channel, N connected with the top of the interior of the regenerator andlead- The pipes ing into the bottom of the gas-producer A. The valve N, located in the channel N, serves to connect the respective regenerator with or disconnect it from the gas-producer A. The 5 pipes H and H are surrounded by ajaeket, 1?, having an opening in its rim or in one of its heads and leading to the outside. The pipe 1 leads downward from the jacket P,and connects with the valve Q, loeated near the valve L, and provided with pipes R and R, leading to the regenerator N, and also'provided with the pipes R" and R, leading to the regenerator N. A pipe, H leads from the valve Q to the pipe H, so as to draw off the fuel-gas from one I 5 of the coke-shafts, as hereinafter more fully described. The valve Q is so arranged that the air passing from the jacket P to the pipe 1? and the surplus gas from the pipe H can be discharged in either of the regcnerators,N

or N, to be burned.

As shown in Fig. 5, the air from the pipe P passes into the pipe R, leading to the channel N of the rcgenerator N, and the fuel-gas entering through the pipe H" passes to the same channel, N", of the regenerator N by means of the pipe R. If the valve Q is reversed, the air entering the pipe P can pass through the pipe R into the channel N of the rcgenerator N, and the gas entering through 0 the pipe H can pass by the pipe B into the same channel, N of the rege'nerator N.

The operation is as follows: The gases from the producerA pass through one of the pipes, G or G, into the respective coke-shaftsD or E, 5 one of the valves 0 being closed and the other being open. Thus one coke-shaft is in communication with the producer A and the other is disconnected from the same. If the cokeshaft D is connected with the producer A,then

o Iforce airthrough the cokein the coke-shaft E, so as to produce a combustible gas,which, for distinction from the regular product in this process, I will term fuelgas, which is used for heating the regenerators N and N. It is un- 4 5 derstood that when the coke-shaft E is in communication with the producer A and the other coke-shaft, D, is disconnected then this fuel gas is producedin the coke-shaft D in the same manner as above described in reference to the coke-shaft E. The fuel-gas from the respective eoke-shaftsD or E passes through the valve G into the pipe H, and from there to the valve Q. The latter is so arranged that air passes in through the pipe 1? by means of the jacket 5 5 1". As shown in Fig. 6, the airfrom the pipe P passes into the pipe R, leading to the channel N of the regenerator N, and the fuelgascs entering the valve Q through the pipe H pass'through the pipe R into the same 50 channel, N, of the said regenerator N, in which they are burned. When the valve Q is reversed, the air and fuel gases pass into the other regenerator, N,through their respective pipes R and R, to be similarly treated. When I the blast-cngineK is set in motion,-thc illumihating-gases are driven through the pipe K into the valve L, and then pass through the pipes L and L", respectively, into the leg'elietflators N or N, respectively, at their bottoms. The illuminating-gas in passing through the rcgenerators N and N, respectively, becomes very highly heated and passes through the respective channels N into the bottom of the producer A. The highly-heated gases pass through the coal in the gas-producerA and give and leave coke as a product in the bottom of the producer A. This coke israked out without allowing atmospheric air to come in contact with the interior of the producer A. The resultant gases in the producer pass through the respective pipes O or 0 into the corresponding coke-shaft, D or E, containing the coke in a glowing condition. The gases,. by passing through the glowing coke have their carbonic acidand steam converted into 8 5 carbonic oxide and hydrogen, and a part of the hydrogen forms marsh-gas. The gases, after passing through the coke-shafts D or E, respectively, pass into the pipes F or F, respectively, and are led, by means of the valve G, into the pipe H, from which the gases pass by the branch pipes H into the coolers I and I, in which the temperature of the gases is considerably reduced. The illuminating gases,

on passing through the coolers I and 1, pass 5 into the tarreceptacle 1*, from which part of the gases corresponding to new-formed gas pass away to be purified in the usual manner,

so as to be ready for the consumer. The rest of the gas is drawn through the pipe J into the blast-engine K, thus completing the cireuit. When the gas-producer A is worked in connection with one of the regenerators, N or N, one of the coke-shafts, D or E, both of the coolers I and I, and the blast-engine K, then 103 the other coke-shaft is used for producing fuelgas, and the other regenerator is heated by burning the fueLgas, as before described. It will be seen that the valves L, Q, and N have to be reversed simultaneously but independ- I10 ently of the other valve, and it may be so arranged that the valves L and Q are worked in connection with each other by one simple device. In a similar manner the valves N in the channels N may also be operated by :15 a single movement, so as to open one and close the other. The valves G and O in the pipes C and C, respectively, are also reversed simultaneously but independently of the other Valves, L, Q, and N", before described. The coal in the producer A and the coke in the coke-shafts D and E are consequently consumed, and consequently new supplies must be periodically introduced into the producer A and the said coke-shafts D and E from the top. Mechanical arrangements are made so as to practically exclude the air when making the charges.

In producing illu minatinggas from coal two things are neeessarythat is, the exclusion of I 30 air and the employment of a heat of at least 1,000 centigrade. This has heretofore been accomplished by inclosing the coal in retorts and applying the heat from without. These operations require a great deal of labor and a considerable consumption of fuel. By my continuous process the charging and discharging are comparatively easy matters, and the cost of labor and the consumption of coal will be reduced materially. As before mentioned, the gases from the producers are passed through glowing coke, whereby carbonic acid and steam are changed into carbonic oxide and hydrogen and marsh gases. About double the quantity of illuminating-gas of excellent quality is thus obtained in comparison with the old method heretofore practiced. The gases are free from carbonic acid, and hence the cost of purifying them will be very much less than for ordinary illuminating-gases. If the operator desires to produce only coke, and gases cannot be advantageously used, the furnace can be employed for this purpose alone. The

two coke-shafts D and E, however, must then 20 be omitted and the gases coming from the gas-producer must be used for heating the regenerators N and N.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- The herein-described process for the manufacture of illuminating-gas and coke, consisting of forcing superheated gases through a charge of coal, then passing the resulting gases through glowing coke, and, finally, superheating part of the gases and passing the same through the coal, substantially as shown and described.

GUSTAF M. WESTMAN. \Vitnesses:

Tnno. G. Hosrnn, C. SEDGWIOK. 

